Pete Carroll was written off as a flake, a fraud, and a two-time NFL failure, but then he built one of the greatest dynasties in college football history. This week on Open Book, Monte Burke and I get into the Men of Troy: the wins, the wild LA nights, and the scandal that brought it all crashing down. Monte Burke, the New York Times bestselling author, has been chosen for Barnes and Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program and has won an Axiom Award for biography. His books have been named ...
Jun 25, 2026•29 min
Does America face a defining crisis every 80 years? In this episode, I sit down with musician and author Bob Crawford to explore the remarkable life of John Quincy Adams, why history may be rhyming once again, and what one of our most overlooked founding leaders can teach us about democracy, public service, and the challenges facing America today. Bob Crawford is the bassist for The Avett Brothers, the host of American History Hotline on iHeartRadio, and cohost of The Road to Now on SiriusXM’s P...
Jun 23, 2026•34 min
Kathleen Harriman was there at the center of it all, at Churchill's side in the Blitz, in Stalin's Moscow, at Yalta, and somehow history almost forgot her. My guest today, renowned historian Geoffrey Roberts, is fixing that, and I promise you, once you hear her story, you won't. Geoffrey Roberts is an emeritus professor of history at University College Cork. A leading Soviet history expert, he has written many books, including Stalin’s Library, an award-winning biography of Georgy Zhukov, Stalin...
Jun 18, 2026•27 min
What if the biggest thing standing between you and your best life isn't failure, it's what other people think of you? Today, I sit down with world-renowned high-performance psychologist Michael Gervais to break down the hidden fear holding back even the greatest athletes, executives, and leaders on the planet. Dr. Michael Gervais is one of the world’s top high-performance psychologists and a leading expert on the relationship between the mind and human performance. He is the founder and host of ...
Jun 16, 2026•34 min
Mike Lynch was a working-class kid from East London who built one of Britain's greatest tech companies, and then watched it all collapse in a fraud scandal that stretched across two continents, two courtrooms, and ultimately, cost him his life. Katie Prescott joins me on Open Book to tell the story of a man who was flawed, brilliant, damaged, and damaging — and what his rise and fall says about the way we worship billionaires and the culture we've built around them. Katie Prescott is the technol...
Jun 11, 2026•30 min
Before New York was New York, it was New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony built on pluralism, capitalism, and a radical idea that tolerance could be a competitive advantage. Russell Shorto joins me on Open Book to tell the story of how a bloodless standoff in 1664 didn't just transfer a city from one empire to another, it set the genetic code for everything New York, and really America, would become. Russell Shorto is the best-selling author of eight books, including Smalltime, Revolution Song, Amsterd...
Jun 09, 2026•31 min
I've been saying it for years, AI is the most important conversation we're having right now. Josh Tyrangiel spent a year hunting for the people actually using it to save lives, and what he found will change the way you think about this technology forever. Josh Tyrangiel is a writer for The Atlantic. He was previously the editor of Bloomberg Businessweek and chief content officer for Bloomberg Media. A twelve-time Emmy and Peabody Award–winning producer, he created Vice News Tonight on HBO and ha...
Jun 04, 2026•32 min
Most of us grew up believing FDR saved America — my grandparents certainly did. But historian David Beito just changed everything I thought I knew about one of the most celebrated presidents in American history by providing a compelling counter-narrative. David T. Beito is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama. He is the author of The New Deal’s War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR’s Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (2023), T.R.M. Howard (biography o...
Jun 02, 2026•35 min
Back for a second time on Open Books is a living legend: Steven Pressfield!!! He's spent his entire career writing about warriors, and what he told me in this conversation stopped me cold: the only way out of the cycle is through the pain, not around it. This is one of the great writers of our generation, and trust me, you do not want to miss this one. Steven Pressfield is the author of the best-selling novels Gates of Fire and Tides of War , as well as The Legend of Bagger Vance . He is also th...
May 29, 2026•30 min
Before the Soviet Union, before Stalin, before communism swallowed half the world — there was one man who almost stopped all of it, and history buried him on purpose. Douglas Brunt brings him back to life, and what he uncovered will change the way you see the entire 20th century. Douglas Brunt is the New York Times bestselling author of The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel and The Lost Empire of Emanuel Nobel, and host of the top-rated SiriusXM author podcast Dedicated with Doug Brunt. This book...
May 28, 2026•31 min
James Holland is one of the greatest WWII historians alive, and his new book should be on the desk of every world leader. We get into the three decisions that built the entire postwar order, and why dismantling them might be the biggest mistake of our lifetime. James Holland, one of WWII’s finest historians, is the co-author of Victory ’45, and author of Cassino ’44, The Savage Storm, Brothers in Arms, Sicily ’43, Normandy ’44, Big Week, The Rise of Germany, and The Allies Strike Back in The War...
May 26, 2026•40 min
Jenny Wallace has written the book for our moment, a masterclass on why so many of us feel empty, disconnected, and like nothing we do actually matters. This isn't just self-help; this is a diagnosis of our culture, and trust me, you need to hear it. Jennifer Breheny Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—and What We Can Do About It , which was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year. Wallace beg...
May 21, 2026•28 min
This month's Q&A, we're getting into everything: the three books that changed how I think about money, how I went from Goldman Sachs to sick in bed on day one of my own company, and why I still say my biggest do-over would be working for Donald Trump. No scripts, no filters, just me, your questions, and the truth right off the cuff. Please keep submitting your questions below. 📚 Books mentioned in this episode: The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason One Up on Wall Street by Peter Ly...
May 19, 2026•25 min
I've spent time in Hong Kong, I've watched this city transform firsthand, and I can tell you what Beijing has done there is the blueprint for everything that comes next. Today I'm sitting down with Simon Elegant, former China bureau chief for the Washington Post, to talk about what the West is still getting dangerously wrong about the CCP, and why the clock may finally be running out. Simon Elegant is the China bureau chief for The Washington Post, based in Taiwan. Previously, he held a variety ...
May 14, 2026•32 min
George Washington didn't just win the American Revolution; he invented what it means to lead with honor, and my guest today, award-winning historian H.W. Brands, is going to tell you exactly why this man, who could have been king, chose to walk away. On this episode of Open Book, we're going back 250 years to find out what Washington got right, and what we owe it to him to protect. H.W Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written more...
May 12, 2026•32 min
Peter Diamandis is one of the most extraordinary minds I've ever had the privilege of calling a friend, a man who doesn't just predict the future, he builds it. Today on Open Book, we're diving into his new book "We Are as Gods", and trust me, what he has to say about AI, aging, and the next decade of human history will change the way you see everything. Peter H. Diamandis is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of over twenty-five companies in the areas of AI, health-tech, space, ven...
May 07, 2026•31 min
I sat down with Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes — the guys behind one of the biggest podcasts on the planet — and what they told me completely reframed how I think about success. Forget the big goals, forget the hustle porn — turns out the only thing separating the best in the world from everyone else is a handful of tiny, almost embarrassingly simple daily habits. Jake Humphrey is one of Britain's best-respected sports presenters. Formerly a Premier League presenter at BT Sport, Jake has covere...
May 05, 2026•25 min
Imagine you're smart enough to go to Wall Street, but instead you move into a Vegas apartment with six other guys and spend the next decade quietly robbing casinos blind — that's the wild true story Kit Chellel lays out in Lucky Devils , and I promise you it reads like the HBO series nobody's made yet. Kit joins me on Open Book to break down how science, obsession, and a little bit of beautiful arrogance changed the game forever. Kit Chellel is a reporter at Bloomberg and Businessweek Magazine, ...
Apr 30, 2026•30 min
Today's guest has done something I didn't think was possible: she made me understand the world I grew up in better than I understood it when I was living it. Heather Ann Thompson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and her new book, Fear and Fury, traces everything we're living through right now back to a single subway shooting in 1984. Heather Ann Thompson is a historian and the Pulitzer Prize and Bancroft Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its...
Apr 28, 2026•34 min
Lloyd Blankfein is one of the most consequential figures in the history of American finance — a kid from the Brooklyn projects who climbed to the top of Goldman Sachs and steered the firm through the worst financial crisis of our lifetime. This is a conversation I've been looking forward to for a long time, so glad to share it with you all on Open Book. Lloyd Blankfein was Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2018. I spent the first seven years of my career at Goldman Sachs, and Lloyd ...
Apr 23, 2026•54 min
Today's guest spent five years digging through archives to uncover the real story of Lewis and Clark — and what he found will completely change the way you think about America's origin. Craig Fehrman is a journalist, a historian, and the author of The Vast Enterprise, and I'm telling you right now, this is one of the most fascinating conversations we've had on Open Book. Craig Fehrman, a journalist and historian, spent five years writing and researching This Vast Enterprise. His first book, Auth...
Apr 21, 2026•28 min
We are back with another Open Book Q&A — the episode where you ask, I answer, and nobody's feelings are guaranteed to survive intact. From repealing Citizens United to what Trump is really like behind closed doors, we're getting into all of it today, so let's go. 📚Books mentioned in this episode: Fear and Fury by Heather Ann Thompson Running Down a Dream by Bill Gurley Nigel Hamilton's FDR trilogy Rick Atkinson's WWII trilogy The Visionaries by James Holland All the Wrong Moves by Anthony S...
Apr 16, 2026•28 min
David Baldacci has sold 150 million books, and when I picked up his first novel — Absolute Power — I was a 32-year-old lawyer who thought he had life figured out. What I didn't expect was to walk away from a thriller feeling like a different person. That's what David does. He doesn't just write stories — he holds up a mirror to humanity, all the mess and the greatness of it, and he dares you to look. Today on Open Book, we're getting into the new book, the craft, and why one of the greatest stor...
Apr 14, 2026•28 min
My guest today is Jitske Kramer — corporate anthropologist, bestselling author, and one of the most original thinkers I've had on this show. We're getting into tricksters, liminality, and why the messy middle of change is exactly where we need to be having the conversations most people are too scared to have. The book is Tricky Times, and trust me — you need to read it. Jitske Kramer is a corporate anthropologist, bestselling author, and founder of HumanDimensions who travels the world learning ...
Apr 09, 2026•28 min
Sebastian Mallaby is back as a repeat guest on Open Book, with a brilliant new book. He spent 30 hours inside the mind of the man building superintelligence, and what he found should wake all of us up. We're talking about Demis Hassabis, the chess prodigy-turned-AI god who founded DeepMind before Sam Altman even had the idea for OpenAI. This is one of the most important books I've read in years, and after this conversation, I promise you, you will never think about AI, China, or the future of yo...
Apr 07, 2026•32 min
Markets are flashing warning signs, and the U.S. consumer is taking the hit. Mike Novogratz and I break down why traders have shifted from buying the dip to selling the rally, what the wealth gap means for the economy, and where crypto stands as the Clarity Act stalls. This is a market you need to understand right now! Michael Novogratz is the Founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment Group LLC. Mr. Novogratz served on the New York Federal ...
Apr 01, 2026•36 min
This episode is about understanding something most people get wrong about Donald Trump: what looks like chaos is often very deliberate. I sat down with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who’s studied Trump for decades, to break down the strategy, the psychology, and the playbook behind it all. Whether you agree with him or not, you need to understand how he operates. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is the Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies and Lester Crown Professor in Management Practice at the Yale School of M...
Mar 31, 2026•33 min
Markets are whipping around like a yo-yo with war, oil, and rates all over the place, and somehow stocks are still standing. At the same time, Jensen Huang is calling out CEOs for hiding behind AI to justify layoffs, while we’re watching a real migration of wealth out of high-tax blue states into places like Miami and Texas. So the big question is: are we managing this economy the right way, or are we just riding momentum until something breaks? Mike Novogratz and I discuss it all on All Things ...
Mar 25, 2026•29 min
I'll be honest with you, I'm a Mets guy, I owned a piece of that team for years, but even I can't deny that the Yankees are the Google of baseball, and today we're going to find out exactly how they keep doing it. My guest is award-winning MLB journalist Andy Martino, whose new book The Yankee Way pulls back the curtain on the Brian Cashman era and reveals that everything you thought you knew about that dynasty was wrong. Andy Martino has written about sports, culture, and entertainment, and has...
Mar 24, 2026•43 min
On today's episode of All Things Markets, Mike Novogratz and I discuss America's K-shaped economy — asset prices near all-time highs, food banks overwhelmed, and the inequality gap as wide as I've ever seen it in my career. We get into all of it this week — the bond selloff, what's really happening in the Middle East, and why AI is going to be the defining issue of our time. Michael Novogratz is the Founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital. He was formerly a Partner and President of Fortress Investment...
Mar 20, 2026•30 min
